How to Pin A Website in Windows 8

Just like Windows Phone, Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating seeks to blend the notifications, shortcuts and even favorites features that owners already love into its colorful Start Screen. In short, this means that users always have the most up-to-date information about what’s going on in their lives and can quickly navigate to the websites and apps that they need.

It’s that ability to pin websites to Windows 8 that, in my opinion, most normal users will enjoy the most. Instead of digging for Internet Explorer and trying to find a favorites button Windows 8 users can simply tap on the tile that represents one of their favorite sites and they’re instantly there.

Even better are the extras that pining a website as a live tile can provide. Microsoft not only allows website owners to create attract live tiles that match their site, apps and content makers can even push information about new posts directly to user’s Start Screens.

Here’s how to Pin a website in Windows 8 and access your favorite websites quickly and easily.

Go to the Start Screen by pressing the Windows Key on your device’s keyboard or by pressing the Windows Key underneath your display.

Click or tap on the icon representing Internet Explorer on your Start Screen. It’s represented by the light blue and white E tile in our example. If you don’t have Internet Explorer pinned to your Start Screen, then Click or tap on the arrow in the bottom-left corner of your display to open up a list of all the apps stored on your device. Users who have devices equipped with touchscreens can also place their finger anywhere on the Start Screen and swipe up.

Navigate to the site you’d like to pin by tapping or clicking on the address bar at the bottom of the app. In our example we’re going to pin GottaBeMobile.

Tap or click on the star icon on the bottom right side of your screen between what looks like a wrench and two sheets of paper.

Now customize what you’d like the site’s live tile to look like in the pop-up window. By default Internet Explorer will give it a basic look and name, but you can customize the tile’s background and what it says. When you’ve made all the customizations you’d like to, click or tap Pin to Start.

Now go back to your Start Screen and your newly pinned app should appear.

That’s it, you’ve successfully pinned a website to your Start Screen. Like other pinned tiles on your Start Screen, any websites you pin will automatically sync between multiple PCs if you’re logged in with a Microsoft Account and have syncing turned on – which it is by default.